The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-03-12

A Foolhardy AttesaPt to Dlsclp.
line = Bengal Tiger.
The geological garden here was
the scene of a thrilling and very
nearly fatal alincident about2 2 O'Clock
yesterday afternoon, says a Phila-
delphia dispatch of February 18th
to the Cincinnati Enquirer. It is
at that hour the animals in the lion
house are fed, each one being given
a large piece of raw meat, generally
horse-fesh. There are other ami
mails in this house besides the lions
among them a very fine Bengal
tiger named King. He is an un-
usually handsome beast, massive
of limb and vicious in temper.
George Robinson, his keeper, has,
first and last, had a great deal of
trouble with him, and has often
been compelled to resort to extreme
measures in his punishment. And
yet there are times when King is as
docile as a kitten, and Robinson,
who is a perfectly fearless man, has
frequently gone into the cage and
played with the beast as boy
would with dog.
Yesterday, however, King seemed
to be in an unusually bad temper,
tearing up and down his cage all
the forenoon and bounding against
the bars with a force which made
them rattle in their sockets. Rob-
inson tried several times to make
him quiet down, but he was unsuc-
cessful. He thought, however, that
Kings ugly humor would disap-
pear at feeding time. and he con-
cluded to wait until then before ad-
ministering punishment. In max
ing his preparations to feed the an
imals the keeper has to pass before
the cages a number Of times, and
they become very restless and i'm
patient, for they know what is COM
ing. King on this occasion be-
haved worse than Robinson had
ever known him. He seemed to be
in a terrible rage, and finally. as
the keeper passed his cage, the tiger
thrust his immense paw through
the bars and struck the keepers
arm, tearing away the clothing and
into the flesh.
Robinson, whose temper when
aroused ia about as frey as the
tigers, became enraged in turn,
and he determined to enter the cage
and conquer the beast. 1t was
downright madness, but no per-
suasion of the other keepers could
prevail on the dauntless man to
give up his purpose. One Of the
men was sent hurriedly to find
Headkeepcr Byrne. who at that
time was in a distant part of the
garden, so that his authority might
be interposed to prevent Robinson
from doing what everyone believed
to be q foolish and fatal thing. He
had hardly gone, however, before
Robinson, whose movements were
as quick as lightning, had sprang
to the rear of the cage, thrown open
the door and leaped into the beasts
den, slamming the door after him.
And then ensued a scene which
those who saw it can never forget.
Man and beast faced each other,
and for a moment neither moved
an inch, the beast, quieted by the
mans sudden entrance, glared at
it's opponent apparently in utter
surprise at his reckless action; the
man. brave and undaunted, and
armed with a strong whip. was pos
itively superb as he stood looking
into the eyes of the tiger.
By this time at least fifty people
had gathered in the house, and
among them Robinson's wife and
child, who were there to visit him,
and had been out of the house
when the trouble began. There
had been much excitement and
many cries of warning and dissua-
sion when Robinson started to en-
ter the case, but as he leaped in
front of the beast the people be-
came as silent as death, the appall-
ing danger the man incurred para
lived their tongues. His wife, pale
and terror-stricken, sank back upon
one of the benches and closed her
eyes that she might not see her
husband torn to pieces in her very
presence, and his child, too young
to realize the awful position of its
father, clung to its mothers dress
CRYING to her to know what its
father was doing in there with the
tiger. His little voice was the only
sound that broke the stiffness, and
Robinson, fortunately for him, he
was too much bent upon his pur-
pose to hear it. :.
But the tiger now crouched a. If
about to spring, and Robinson
knew that the moment of his su-
rroro trial had come. He awaited